History in the making as teammates pay tribute

FORMER teammates and club officials have
paid tribute to Queanbeyan stalwart Michael Frost on the verge of his historic
500th match in the ACT grade cricket competition.

Bluebags champion Mark Higgs began his
first grade career playing alongside Frost in the early 1990s and praised his
fellow veteran’s commitment to the club over more than three decades.

“Frosty’s been a terrific servant for the
club, as a player, an administrator and as a guy who other players can learn
from,” Higgs said.

“I started playing with him in first grade
in the early 90s and he was good for me as a kid coming through, he was always
able to give me plenty of tips.”

Frost’s arrival in first grade in 1985/86
coincided with a golden era for the club with Queanbeyan going on to win five
premierships in the next seven years.

Mark Thornton was first grade player/coach
during the side’s run of three consecutive titles between 1985/86 and
1988/89.

“When I started Michael had just come in to
first grade and was batting down at number eight,” Thornton recalled. “I was
opening at the time and basically swapped around with him in the order and he
never looked back.

“He always had a bit of talent and the good
thing about him was he wasn’t scared to have a go. He was a bit like [David]
Warner is these days, if the ball was there he’d have a crack.

“It didn’t always come off but when it did
it was demoralising for the opposition to see good balls getting smacked back
over their heads.”

It was during Thornton’s time at Queanbeyan
that the Bluebags would rewrite the record books in the side’s 1985/86
semi-final win over Ginninderra.

The Bluebags mammoth total of 728 in that
game still stands as an ACT Cricket record, with a young Frost blasting his way
to what remains his highest ever score of 164.

“It was 27 years ago when we started
playing together and for Michael to have that longevity to keep carrying on and
turning up every week since then is an amazing achievement,” Thornton said.

In more recent years, Frost has continued
to represent the club with distinction in the lower grades and as a junior
coach.

And club president Peter Solway said
Frost’s continued involvement with the club after more than 30 years of loyal
service on and off the pitch was testament to his passion for the game and his
beloved Bluebags.

“It just shows how much Frosty loves the
game of cricket and how much he loves the club and the people he plays with,” Solway
said. “The competitive edge still burns with Frosty, as it does in a few of the
older blokes around the club and hopefully that’s something we can pass on to
the next generation.”